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Business Profile – El Guapo

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Tequila! The owners of Gusto Pizza Co. are reopening their location on the border of West Des Moines and Waukee with a new, upscale “south of the border” concept. El Guapo’s Tequila and Tacos will offer street tacos and more than 50 different types of tequila.

Co-owners Jared Weiss and Josh Holderness said after six years as Gusto Pizza Co. and experiencing nearly half a dozen pizza places pop up within a one-mile radius, it was time to do something different.

“Waukee has had some unbelievable economic and residential growth, and that’s not going to slow down any time soon. We are committed to the neighborhood and enjoy being here. We wanted to create a concept that allows us to continue fostering relationships in the community,” said Holderness.

When gathering ideas from friends in the area on a new establishment, Holderness said the desire for a neighborhood bar kept coming up.  “There are a lot of options for craft beer in Waukee, but not for cocktails.”

Weiss, a southern California native with a marketing background, was particularly interested in a bar with Mexican flare—and a story. The tale concerns El Guapo (“the handsome one”), an immigrant from Jalisco, Mexico (tequila’s place of origin), who traveled to West Des Moines in 1926 as a distiller. 

“Not a lot is known about El Guapo, but we’re bringing to light to who he was and where he came from,” said Weiss.

In addition to tequila, El Guapo will serve beer—primarily Mexican, but also some domestics—as well as custom cocktails unique to the bar. Weiss said the menu will be simple, with well-thought-out traditional Mexican recipes, including tacos with house-made tortillas.

The DIY concept can also be seen in the newly-designed aesthetics of the space. Everything from the bar to the lighting and the hubcap art installation were crafted by the owners. 

Weiss said they wanted to give the location a totally different vibe and ambiance in its latest incarnation. “I think we’ve done that with finishes you’ll see. It’s really coming together with different textures and elements.”

El Guapo is comprised of three sections—a Day of the Dead room, the Agave Courtyard and the Lower Rider Lounge, which will feature a more relaxed setting with couches. TVs will be placed throughout the bar for customers to catch a game—both football and futbol.

Weiss said that while the restaurant will be family-friendly, it will transition to a bar at night with brunch available on the weekend.

Regular tasting and educational events also will be held at the bar. “We want to show people the many different types of tequila, and how to drink it and pair it with great tacos,” explained Weiss. 

Holderness feels tequila is often misunderstood, and there’s much to learn about it. “It’s a beautiful spirit,” he said.  “We want to teach people how to really enjoy and savor it.” 

The bar’s grand opening is scheduled for Nov. 1, just in time for Dia de los Muertos—the Mexican “Day of the Dead” holiday that follows Halloween. Weiss said Waukee residents can look forward to celebrating El Guapo with a costume party and a mariachi band—and, of course, tequila!

Business Spotlight: B-Bop’s Waukee

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Des Moines fast food institution B-Bop’s has been delivering fast food with a retro flair to central Iowa residents for decades.  Now, Waukee residents will have a B-Bop’s location right in their backyard, as construction nears completion on the franchise’s newest location.

Construction began in the fall of 2018 on the 2,200-square-foot restaurant, which will be located at 855 East Hickman Road, near the Waukee Hy-Vee.  The location will offer seating for 60 inside, as well as eight tables on the patio and, of course, a drive-thru. The layout will be very similar to the B-Bop’s location on Stagecoach Drive in West Des Moines.  With the addition of the new store in Waukee, B-Bop’s will have a total of nine locations in Iowa, joining the existing stores on Fleur Drive, Southeast 14th, and East 14th in Des Moines, as well as their locations in West Des Moines, Altoona, Ankeny, Urbandale and Ames.

B-Bop’s is a much-loved fixture in the metro fast food landscape, but its owner got his start one state over.  B-Bop’s owner Bob Johnson embarked on his career in the fast food industry with the Mr. Quick franchise in Bollingbrook, Ill., in 1970.  He began as an assistant manager, a position he held for eight months. Impressed with Johnson’s ambition and skill, Mr. Quick’s corporate office offered him the opportunity to become a franchise partner in the business.  Johnson accepted this offer in 1973, moving to Newton, Iowa, and opening a Mr. Quick there. He later opened stores in Fairfield and Muscatine as well. In 1983, Johnson and his partners changed the restaurant name from Mr. Quick to Sizzlin’ Sam’s.

During the mid-1980s, as Johnson continued to open businesses, he took note of a new, burgeoning concept: the double drive-thru.  These were popping up throughout the Sun Belt states and encountering great success, and Johnson was interested in the possibility of opening one himself.  In 1988, Johnson found a building at 1500 East Euclid Avenue in Des Moines that he felt would be an ideal location for a double drive-thru. Within six months, the first B-Bop’s was opened on that spot, and the rest, as they say, is history.  (The original Euclid location has since been demolished—a new B-Bop’s was built around the corner on East 14th Street to replace it in 2016.)

It’s fair to say that B-Bop’s is known just as much for its atmosphere as for its food.  The old-school vibe inside each location, with the carefree music of an era gone by and the distinctive, colorful décor, take customers back to what many consider a golden, simpler time.  The beloved local chain, with its simple, tried-and-true menu, has won Cityview Magazine’s Best of Des Moines award in the Best Burger category for an astonishing 26 years in a row. B-Bop’s has also been a runner-up for Best French Fry in Cityview’s annual poll for the past five years, and its quarter- and half-pound burgers and fries also earned it the 2016 runner-up for Best Hangover Food.  

With the new store in Waukee set to open soon, residents will soon be able to satisfy their craving for a classic burger with a side of fries and a soundtrack that will take them right back to the olden days.  B-Bop’s represents just the latest exciting addition to the boom of new restaurants in Waukee!

Miss NiNi’s Desserterie

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Finding a good cup of coffee in the Metro isn’t difficult. Nor is it hard to hunt down tasty desserts. But finding both in one spot, with that certain hard-to-define element that accompanies homemade items, can be a little more challenging. That’s where Miss NiNi’s Desserterie comes in.

Janine Knop, whose longtime nickname gives the store its name, has had a passion for baking her entire life. Raised on a farm in North Dakota, she “would sit on our three-legged, wobbly kitchen stool observing Mom as she made dozens of loaves of bread, pies, cakes and cinnamon rolls.” Knop continued to bake all through school, participating in 4-H for a decade and earning her college degree in home economics education and food and nutrition.

After years of farming near Atlantic, Iowa, with her husband Fred, Knop began to enter her baked creations in food exhibits and competitions at the Iowa State Fair (the largest of their kind in the country). Before long, she wasn’t just participating—she was bringing home numerous championship ribbons. According to Knop, this was when she decided to challenge herself by baking professionally.

Knop’s desserts could soon be found at Friedrich’s Coffee locations around the Des Moines Metro and at Zanzibar’s Coffee Adventure, where they have been featured for over 10 years. The menu at Des Moines Golf and Country Club also regularly features Knop’s signature creations. The clamor for the desserts increased with time, and in January of 2017, Miss NiNi’s Desserterie opened for business in the Hawthorne Center on University Avenue.

Miss NiNi’s menu features a diverse array of goodies, many of which were awarded championship ribbons at the state fair. “I create recipes based on unique flavor combinations and design,” says Knop.

It’s difficult to imagine a sweet tooth that couldn’t be satisfied at Miss NiNi’s. If cheesecake isn’t your speed—of which there are 11 varieties on the menu, from Chocolate Raspberry Swirl to Italian Tiramisu—there are also layer cakes, brownies, dessert breads, cookies and coffee cakes available. One highly popular item, the Cupcake-A-Jar, “solves the problem of messy cupcake eating,” according to Knop. Cake and frosting are layered in small glass canning jars, which allows the consumer to eat a few bites now and save the rest for later. The jars are shelf-stable for five to seven days, so you can take your sweet time enjoying them.

In addition to the dessert options, Knop says customers tell them their coffee—made with locally-roasted Zanzibar’s beans and a sophisticated water filtration system—is the best-tasting in town.

With the holiday season just around the corner, seasonal additions have begun to appear in the dessert case at Miss NiNi’s. Among the offerings are pumpkin praline cheesecake, three-layer pumpkin cake with cranberry filling and cinnamon buttercream frosting, decadent flourless chocolate torte with chocolate ganache, and apricot rum cheesecake.

New this year is Miss NiNi’s 8-inch Bundt cake, which comes in pumpkin spice, chocolate chunk, and coconut bliss. One seasonal hit from last year, make-them-yourself Christmas cookie kits, will be offered again this season, along with cookie gift trays, which would undoubtedly go over well at any holiday office party or family gathering.

Knop and her baking team focus on creating beautiful, handcrafted desserts with impeccable homemade flavor and texture—qualities that are often absent in the commercial baking industry, Knop notes. Locally owned and operated, Knop says Miss NiNi’s “would be incomplete without the tremendous support and dedication of my family and talented baking team!”

Customers who visit the desserterie, located at 9500 University Avenue, Suite 1204, in West Des Moines, have the option of enjoying their dessert on-site or taking it to-go. Hours and menu items may be found at missnini.com.

So if you’re in the market for a great cup of joe and a sweet, homemade treat to go with it—and really, who isn’t?—Miss NiNi’s has you covered.

Waukee’s Central Standard Burgers

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By Kellyn Pappas

You don’t have to look far in the Des Moines metro area to find a good burger. From the classics at B-Bop’s to the slightly less conventional choices at Zombie Burger, there’s something to suit every taste. And now customers have an intriguing new option in Waukee: Central Standard Burgers.

Central Standard, located at 1222 SE University Avenue, is the second location of a restaurant that got its start in Bettendorf, Iowa, about five years ago. According to general manager Andy Crounse, the restaurant was developed as an alternative to more traditional “cookie-cutter” burger joints.

Central Standard proved enormously popular. As the restaurant, along with other eateries owned by the same group, continued to be successful, the ownership group determined the time was right to expand. Crounse said Waukee was selected for the new restaurant because Waukee is “all about family and the community—it’s the key to good living!”

According to Crounse, the menu at the Waukee location will look very similar to the one in Bettendorf, with a few differences on the features menu and in the cocktail offerings. For example, a “Warrior Lemonade” mocktail will appear as a Waukee-specific item.

Perhaps unique among burger restaurants, Central Standard bakes all of its own bread, pretzels and buns for their burgers. And these burgers are not slabs of boring beef with nothing but ketchup. Among the dozen or so burger options are the “Oh No,” with cheese curds and fried pickles, and the “Heck No,” with jalapeño poppers and ghost pepper cheese. The menu also includes other sandwiches like the PB & J (that’s pork belly and jalapeño, not the childhood favorite peanut butter and jelly), and various jazzed-up mac and cheese selections (if, like the writer, your taste preferences occasionally lean in the direction of the kids’ menu).

The restaurant takes pride in its craft beer offerings, with 24 beers on tap at any given time. These are locally sourced as much as possible. Current options include beers from Exile Brewing Company and Iowa Brewing Company. “They’re all Iowa beers at the moment,” said Crounse.

Central Standard is also well-known for its massive, creative shakes—think tall glasses rimmed with candy sprinkles and topped with baked goods. For example, the Cookie Dough shake features an actual cookie sandwich, and the s’more shake— well, you get the idea. All menu shakes can be upgraded to loaded shakes for those over 21. The restaurant also features “Will’s Feature Shake of the Month.” A portion of the proceeds from this specialty shake go to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, a partnership which has been going strong for about four years, according to Crounse, and one of which they are especially proud.

Central Standard had a soft open for family and friends the week of July 23 and officially opened for business on July 30. The restaurant currently has about 65 people on staff, and Crounse says they expect to eventually have around 100 employees total. With plenty of indoor space, plus a patio, the restaurant seats around 280 people. Customers can find their menu and hours of operation online at centralstandardburgers.com.

Crounse and his colleagues at Central Standard are excited to bring their unique take on burgers and fries to Waukee. Outside-the-box offerings are their specialty. “We don’t want to be the same old, same old,” said Crounse.

With creative burgers on homemade buns, local craft beers and shakes that provide a lot more than just a cherry on top, Central Standard stands to be an exciting new option for hungry Waukee residents.

 

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